Reel type grass cutting units typically used on golf courses and athletic fields are designed so the height at which the grass is cut can be adjusted to various levels as desired. This is an important adjustment because the appearance and health of the turf, and the quality of the athletic activity may be affected by the cut height. Throughout the growing season, the cut height may need to be changed to suit the growing conditions. Additionally, the cut height may need to be changed for different areas. On a golf course, for example, areas such as fairways are usually cut at different heights than roughs or approaches.
On a manually adjusted reel type grass cutting unit, the height of cut adjustment is labor intensive, time consuming, and requires a high level of skill. Turf managers may not change the cut height as frequently as may be needed because of the time and work involved in the adjustment process. Many facilities will have multiple mowers, each dedicated to a specific cut height, instead of re-adjusting the height of cut of a machine.
A self-adjusting reel type grass cutting unit has been developed that sets the cut height automatically when commanded through a user interface. This adjustment system has two separate frameworks: the cutting unit frame and the ground contacting frame. A pair of adjusting screws actuated by dc electric motors may raise and lower the cutting unit frame with respect to the ground contacting frame. A four bar linkage on each end of the cutting unit frame sets the attitude of the cutting unit frame and keeps the cutting unit frame approximately parallel with the ground as the cut height is adjusted. A self adjusting reel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,318 assigned to Deere & Company of Moline, Ill.
The self adjusting reel described above has many advantages over manually adjusting the height of cut, including savings in time, skill and effort required to make the adjustment, and high accuracy. It would be desirable to further reduce the work required to set or change the height of cut of a reel type grass cutting unit.